Improperly exposed photos are the bane of all kinds of photographers, especially those who shoot outdoors where a wide range of tones may exceed the density range of your camera. We posted a tutorial earlier today explaining a simple method to remedy this problem by using Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools to make dark areas lighter and light areas dark to arrive at a balanced result.
Achieving accurate results during the editing process is sort of like rolling the dice if not you’re not working with a correctly calibrated display. In fact, you’re probably better off with a cheap monitor that’s properly calibrated than with a high-end display that’s not.
Adobe updates their software frequently, with powerful new headline-grabbing features and tools. That’s a good thing for all of us, with one exception: sometimes we get so excited about all the new stuff that we forget about tools we used with great success in the past.
There are times when photos of a beautiful outdoor scene appear flat and dull, and that could be due to bad light, incorrect camera settings, or a myriad of other problems. You can always return on a better day, with your camera configured properly, but why do that if you can transform an unimpressive image into something really special with a few quick adjustments in Photoshop?
Some photographers shy away from employing presets when editing their work because of a misconception that they’re difficult to use. Nothing could be further from the truth, and as you’ll see in the quick tutorial below, you can even create your own custom presets with ease.
Do you want to make perfect masks in Lightroom and get the job done in half the time? If so, you’ve come to the right place. The Lightroom hack in the tutorial below is so simple that it only takes five minutes to explain.
Most photographers are always on the lookout for effective editing tips that shorten the time they spend sitting behind the computer. The goal, of course, is to finish post-processing as quickly as possible and get back out in the field doing what we all love most.
Understanding the power of selections and how they interact with layers is very important if you want to achieve maximum results when editing images in Photoshop. There are several ways to get the job done, some more precise and complicated than others, as you’ll see in the comprehensive tutorial below.
As one of our favorite landscape photographers insists, “contrast is a crucial aspect of photo editing.” That’s because this key variable helps define the relationship between different tones and colors in an image.
You don’t have to be a professional portrait photographer to make flattering people pictures that make you and your subjects proud. In fact, sooner or later someone who knows you have a camera will solicit your expertise for photographing a party, wedding, or simple family images.
Dynamic Range is a very important concept to understand when evaluating the performance of your camera or purchasing a new one. This specification is also a key aspect when editing your photos, as you’ll see in the tutorial below.
One of the first things many of us learned when first getting started is to always use the lowest ISO setting possible. While this rule may be true in certain situations, other times it can be detrimental to the images you make.
Just to be clear, we’re not recommending that anyone become a one-trick pony when editing their image. In the interesting tutorial below, however, you’ll learn how to use one simple Lightroom slider to dramatically enhance landscape photos and other images shot outdoors.
Photographers experienced with Photoshop know that using the best tools for a task is only part of the equation when editing their images. Another very important consideration for achieving optimum results is making adjustments in the correct order.
We’re always looking for shooting and editing tips that provide a unique look and give Shutterbug readers ideas for creating a style of their own. If landscape photography is your thing and you want to try something different, the tutorial below is for you.